Giant tech company Google recently agreed to pay a $50 million settlement to over 4,000 Black employees who accused the search engine company of racial bias.
Announced last week, the settlement was reportedly filed on Thursday in a federal court in Oakland, California, where it currently awaits approval from a judge.
According to the plaintiff, April Curley, a former employee of the company, Google consistently denied her opportunities for promotion after hiring her to foster relationships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). She also says the company branded her with the stereotype of an “angry” Black woman. When she began compiling recollections to create a report on the alleged racial bias, they fired her after six years at the company.
Over 4,000 employees from California and New York are part of the case alongside Curley. Testimonies given as part of the case say that they were told that they were not “Googley” enough to be at the company by managers across the two states. According to their lawyers, all plaintiffs involved may look to receive up to $12.5 million in fees as part of the settlement.
In a statement shared with Reuters, a Google representative denied the plaintiff’s claims, despite the settlement.
“We strongly disagree with the allegations that we treated anyone improperly and we remain committed to paying, hiring and leveling all employees consistently,” said spokesperson Courtenay Mencini, adding that they adhered to legal laws.
The announcement of the settlement comes approximately two months after Google agreed to pay $28 million to settle a lawsuit that said it favored Asian and white employees more than employees from different backgrounds.
Filed in 2021, former Google employee Ana Cantu claimed that Hispanic, Latino and Native American workers were given lower pay and had to begin at lower levels than white and Asian employees. Despite her work, she was also denied extra pay and promotions across seven years at the companies with preference given to white and Asian employees.
At least 6,632 other people, who worked at the company between Feb. 15, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2024, joined in on Cantu’s lawsuit. As part of the lawsuit, an internal document that was leaked was used as evidence to demonstrate a significant gap in pay between workers performing the same work.
The settlement was reportedly agreed to after Cantu’s lawyers agreed to exclude Black employees from the class.
Over the course of four years, Google has paid nearly $200 million in settlement funds to resolve allegations of discrimination in three separate lawsuits.
